Snowboarding by day, telling jokes by night
Comedians tour Western Canada for the fun and the snow
Snowed In Comedy Tour Feb. 7 at 8:30 p.m. | Vogue Theatre Tickets: $40/30 at northerntickets.com
Each year, Dan Quinn rounds up a few snowboarding comedian buddies and heads out on the Snowed In Comedy Tour. The Vancouver-based comic, who is originally from Edmonton, had the idea to mix jokes and winter sports seven years ago. Since then, the annual event has grown from nine shows in towns and cities in Western Canada to 24. We caught up with Quinn to talk about the current lineup (Craig Campbell, Paul Myrehaug and Pete Zedlacher, filling in for Arj Barker who had to leave the tour because of a family emergency), snowboarding jokes and mountain conditions. Q Do you guys tell a lot of snowboarding jokes?
A We try to tell different jokes depending where we are. In Revelstoke, I did about 10 minutes’ worth, because everyone there skis and snowboards, and none at all in Victoria. You’re figuring out your crowd a little bit, and it’s what we feel like talking about. We have to make sure we get the laughs. If no one knows what we’re talking about then we’re going to be in a lot of trouble.
Q You’re playing places that probably don’t see a lot of comedians coming through. What’s the reaction like in those towns?
A They’re excited. Even if comedians would come to their town, they wouldn’t get as big a show as we’re providing. That’s what makes this kind of unique. They get a real special treat, guys they’ve seen on TV, and there’s four of them on one show. And the people in these towns are really awesome. They get behind it, they know us, they treat us fantastic.
Q Have you played some dives?
A Over my career or on this tour? What we try to do is not play the dives, but the best venues in town. We’re trying to do the theatres or town halls in these smaller communities. In Cranbrook, you could play the crappy bar, but instead we’re playing the 500-seat theatre. We’d rather have 200 people in that than play to 200 people in a bar.
Q You must see some nice old theatres still in good shape.
A A perfect example is Victoria. The theatre there (the Royal) is one of the older in Canada and it’s gorgeous. You go to a place like Vernon, where they have a brand new performing arts centre, and it’s beautiful. Same with Prince Rupert. You come to these smaller communities and you’re like ‘wow, this is nicer than most venues you find in Vancouver.’
Q As you travel to these places, are you getting some ideas of where you might like to retire?
A You know, a place I would like to spend more time in is Revelstoke. I’m not sure what the communities are like outside of the skiing and snowboarding community, but it’s one of my favourite places. The hill is amazing, and it (the town) has a little bit of hipness to it. People who don’t come here would be surprised at what some of these smaller communities are like.
Q Each tour usually has at least one or two new com- ics who haven’t been on the tour before. How can you tell if you’re going to get along for a month, cooped up in a van or bus together?
A We try to keep it close to the same group. We go through a checklist of qualities we want. One is “easy to get along with.” You’ve got four big personalities and you have to make sure you all get along or it’s not fun, which is the point of the tour — to have the greatest vacation you’ve ever had and get paid for it.
Q What are the ski conditions like this year?
A It was good and now this last week has been horrible. We’re hoping it’ll turn around again. We’ve been sleeping in a little more and going out in the afternoons than we would be if we had great snow.